narcissist

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Narcissists are the kudzu of the human condition—a rapidly proliferating species that shows up anywhere, thrives everywhere and resists all attempts to wipe them out. There are a lot of reasons for that: They're charismatic, articulate and often brilliant. They have the power to charm the pants off of you—sometimes literally—which means they breed a lot, leaving plenty of little narcissists behind. (And yes, there's a genetic component to the condition.)

What this means is that you are all but certain to encounter narcissists, at any given time, on any given day. The question is how to deal with them. Here are five places narcissists lurk—and what you should do when you find them.